Righteous
by variousfaceddoctor
Summary: The Doctor and Donna Nobel are drawn to help a woman and stop an alien's influence in Salem.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Doctor? Doctor! HEY SPACEBOY!" Donna Noble's voice shrieked and boomed at the same time as it echoed loudly through the tin-like, expansive corridors. Even the T.A.R.D.I.S. itself seamed to groan with discontent.

"Donna, Donna, calm down. I'm right here. And we're in the middle of nowhere, or everywhere depending on your viewpoint; but my point is where exactly do you think I'm going to go?"

Spinning around she sees no one either in front of or behind her. "Well, where exactly are you?"

"Right here. Geronimo!" The Doctor dropped from somewhere above and landed, rather silently in his red Converse sneakers, right in front of Donna.

"Eeeeaaaahk!" she screamed, deploying the worldwide sign for a heart attack by clutching at her chest as The Doctor switched off his trusty sonic and slid it into his pocket. "Where the …" Her question trailed off as she noticed that there was no opening above her from which The Doctor had just dropped.

"The environmental lyots were in need of a slight calibration. I just popped up to give it a bit of a tweak. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What is wrong? I'll tell you what is wrong, Space boy." Quickly she marched down the corridor towards the control center. "First of all, broadcasting that you are about to materialize from up above by announcing 'Geronimo!' is hardly a fair warning and is very bad etiquette."

"Since, when do you worry about etiqu…?" The Doctor quickened his stride to keep up with his annoyed companion.

"Secondly," she interrupted, stopping shortly and pointing her finger in the air, "were you just crawling on the ceiling or did you just drop through?"

"Well, that's easy to explain," replied The Doctor, stumbling to keep from running into her. "You see…"

"And MOST importantly, you said we were in the middle of nowhere." She changed the direction of her still pointing digit to The Doctors face.

"Yes, and everywhere," he replied with a perturbed glance at the accusing finger. "What about it?"

"Then I guess she came from the 'everywhere' part. You have a visitor." Reaching the control room, Donna drew the finger from direction of The Doctor and pointed haughtily to a young black woman huddled on the floor just inside the open blue police box disguised doors. The bottom half of her dress was sprawled about like a ballerinas' tutu while the dark black bodice was buttoned tightly from her waist to above her neckline, as were her sleeves from shoulder to wrists. Her grey shawl had been abandoned on the floor between her and the starry expanse beyond the T.A.R.D.I.S. She momentarily raised her head just long enough to glimpse the doors with terror before burying her head again in her arms.

As The Doctor stood in shock, he believed he heard her praying.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"You were just as scared when it happened to you. That's all I'm saying." The Doctor poked his head out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. and looked around quickly.

"Oy! I was scared right enough, but you didn't coddle me any, did you?. All that yelling and carrying on..."

"Yes, I remember the yelling. You wouldn't stop. Kept demanding that I take you back."

"It was my wedding day!"

"Let's not go round again. I'm just saying even though I don't know why she arrived here, it's understandable that she would try the door; understandable that she would be terrified; and would have been kind of you to shut the doors instead of running off and leaving her traumatized." The Doctor turned to the woman who had finally moved enough to back against the control console. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees and she rocked back and forth slightly. She was quietly mumbling something about demons and damnation as her panicky, glazed eyes darted back and forth as if reading a book but focused on nothing.

"So how do we know that this is where she belongs?" asked Donna gesturing to their uninvited guest. "When and where are we, anyway?"

"Earth," replied The Doctor tapping a few keys on the control console and checking the monitor. "Looks to be late 1600s." He walked around the console and nonchalantly pointed his sonic in the general direction of the terrified woman. "And I don't know that this is where she belongs, although her attire does concur with the period. But I traced the signal emanating from her body to this point."

"Signal." Donna backed away as if the woman might have radiation. "What signal?"

"When you materialized in the T.A.R.D.I.S., It was because your body had been flooded with Huon particles which were drawn towards the T.A.R.D.I.S.," reminded The Doctor. "She has been exposed to GZ7; a residual phase trail that is left by leaping from time to time and place to place. The T.A.R.D.I.S cleans up after itself and recycles GZ7 into phase energy. It must have detected the GZ7 and in collecting it, collected her too."

"So you have another napping charge to your rap sheet and your defense is that my spaceship made me do it," Donna mocked him with her hands on her hips.

The Doctor looked around the T.A.R.D.I.S as if evaluating it. "Pretty much. And I agree it's becoming a very bad habit." He turned his attention to the woman again. "And this time it appears to have snagged up a hitchhiker from the dark ages. Her mind is having a hard time comprehending all of this."

"Hello there, hello, I know you don't want to talk to me, and I know you are scared, but please I can help you. I'm The Doctor."

The woman's eyes appeared to focus ever so slightly as she allowed his soothing words to penetrate her wall of terror. "Doctor? You are a doctor? A doctor of medicines?" she inquired with a thick Caribbean accent.

"Well not exactly...Hey love, what is your name?"

"Tituba."

"Well, it is an extreme pleasure to meet you Tituba, and there's no cause for alarm. You are in no danger here. Donna and I will see to it you get home safely. Do you know where your home is?"

"I-I live with the master," she replied. Her eyes softened a bit as they spoke. The Doctor always had that calming and reassuring way about him.

"Master?" Donna exclaimed loudly. "What the bloody..."

"Shhhh, Donna," the Doctor warned, noticing Tituba's fearful reaction to the outburst as she tightened her grip around her knees.

"But what does she mean by 'Master'?"

"I belong to the reverend; Reverend Parris. I'm a slave, Ma'am"

"Reverend indeed," spat Donna.

"Donna, hush. Tituba, do you mean the Reverend Samuel Parris?"

"Yes, sir. You know him, sir?"

"Well, I've heard of him."

That was too much for Donna. "Well, if you know him, then you need to find out why he let her get GL5 and tell him to release her."

"It's GZ7," corrected The Doctor leading her away from Tituba, "GL5 is a lubricating oil used in automobiles on earth, and slavery is a way of life in this age. There's nothing we can do about that."

He glanced over at Tituba who was much more at ease and looking at her surroundings with more wonderment than fear. "Plus there's something else; something delicate here. She is very important. Tituba..?"

"Yes, sir?" she replied. She had been touching the smooth surface of the console, but at the Doctors calling she pulled her hand away as if she had been bitten by a spider.

"Tituba, do you remember what you were doing before you got here?"

"Um-Yes Sir. I was making the children's breakfast. They will be sore displeased. I need to return."

"Then return you shall." The Doctor stepped towards the door. "It has been a pleasure to have you visit us, we will have to do it again if we are not just a dream, yes?"

"Doctor," Donna spoke up, "You aren't just going to open the door and let her waltz away are you?

"At the mention of the door, Tituba backed a few steps away moving around the console.

"We most certainly are. What's wrong, Tituba?"

"The door, Sir. Don't, please. There's something wrong with the outside."

"What? No. Oh no. That was just somebody… passing … with something … in front of the doorway … of our little shop." The Doctor glanced to Donna seeking her collaboration. "Yeah, that was nothing at all. Look."

He opened the door and although she cringed momentarily, Tituba walked to the door and peered out onto a street.

"It's Salem," she said bewildered yet relieved.

"Of course it is. Salem Village. I think you were headed to the market for eggs. Yes? You must have had a dizzy spell and wondered in here. There you go. Better be off. I am sure the reverend's children are hungry."

Tituba hurried out the door and stepped into the village street. "Thank you Doctor. Thank you Ma'am." She nodded to them both. "I am sorry for troubling you. I do have to hurry. Little Betty had a terrible fit last night carrying on talking nonsense and twitching. I must hurry to care for her."

"It's no trouble at all. Thank you for stopping by."

"But, Doctor…" Emphasizing the word "Doctor" Donna touched his sleeve with a cunning smile on her face. "She has a sick child to care for. Shouldn't you take a look?"

"I'm afraid I can't, Donna. I'm not a medical doctor."

"The reverend can pay. I am sure he would want your assistance, Doctor." Tituba pressed again.

"I'm sorry, I truly am."

"Well then go." Donna folded her arms and cast her irritated expression indicating that she was not to be trifled with.

"But, you don't know what …"

"Nor do I care. You are going Doctor." She began to push him out the door after Tituba.

"This is not a good idea… we can't… certain things…" he looked from one woman to the other. "Mark my words Donna, this will not end well."

Donna folded her arms again as Tituba grasps her hands together in a plea.

The Doctor sighs in surrender. "Allóns-y."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The Party arrived at the parsonage of the Reverend Samuel Parris. Donna started to follow Tituba to the back of the house but the slave explained that she would greet them at the front door hurried away.

"Servant's door," exclaimed Donna, "that's what it is. She has to use the servant's door."

"Well, of course she does Donna. She's a servant," The Doctor replied. He was scanning the house and the yard with his sonic.

"What is wrong with you?"

The Doctor pocketed his sonic with a 'click' and turned to face her. "There are several trace amounts of GZ7 surrounding the parsonage."

"Well, that's nice but I mean about Tituba."

"What about her?"

"Don't you care that she's a slave?"

"Well not really. Donna, this is the late 1600s. Slavery is common and acceptable here and now. It's brutal, and morally comprehensible for us now, but had it never existed in history, it never would have been wrong." He studied her face for a signal of understanding, but he only saw disgust.

"You know what I think?" Donna spoke up moving her hands to her hips.

"Yes, I do know what you think, and no, I am not going to interfere. It's a fixed point. And besides, I already freed the slaves in America."

"You what?"

"Well, I helped. Mary Lincoln was so grateful for my assistance to her husband; she gave me his top hat. I'll show you it when we go back to the T.A.R.D.I.S." Glancing quickly over his shoulder at the house, he pulled out his sonic again and resumed his scans. "Now, be careful will you? I should never bring companions with me to a fixed point powder keg."

"Why, what's so important? What's going to happen?"

_Click_ The sonic silenced as he turned to face her again. "Donna, we are at the home of Samuel Parris in Salem Village in the late 1600s. Tituba is most likely about to ignite the Salem Witch Trials."

Donna's face expressed the recognition this time but Tituba opened the front door and motioned for them to enter before she could respond.

"Thank you, Tituba," The Doctor entered with Donna following.

"Yes, sir. Yes ma'am. Doctor, Miss Donna, this is Reverend Parris."

"Welcome, Doctor, ma'am. Tituba informs me that you assisted her this morning in the village. Please send me your service debt." Noting that Tituba had not taken her leave, the reverend turned to her. "Tituba, see to the children."

"Yes, sir."

As Tituba scurried up the stairs, Donna looked their host over. He wore a dark coat, waistcoat and britches with stockings. In contrast, his attire emphasized a spotless white lace Steinkerk cravat pulled loosely through the top buttonhole. She envied his dark shoulder length wavy hair that curled softly at the ends. As he turned back to them, she studied his face. It was nice enough. Soft featured eyes over a rather pointed downturned nose. She expected something more leathery and evil looking from a slave master instead of this studious looking pastor.

The Doctor assured that there would be no charge for Tituba's incident in their shop and the reverend eyed them both suspiciously. "And you just opened this shop?"

"Oh, no," replied The Doctor. It was just a kiosk actually. It's portable. Little hard to explain. I'm afraid that it startled Tituba because we were just setting it up. Yes."

"At any rate, you are a doctor?"

"Yes," Donna replied. "He is. And he is very intrigued by your daughters' situation."

"Well, let's look in on her, shall we."

He led them up the stairs and reached for the door. "I would rather enter alone, if you please," The Doctor warned, "me and my assistant.

The reverend stood aside, "Certainly, Doctor. Uh, Doctor? Where is your medicine kit?"  
>The Doctor glanced from the reverend to Donna and back. "Ah, yes. Well, she has no broken bones. Nothing needs to be patched together then, right?"<p>

"Yes, she is whole"

"Well then, the only thing I would need my bag for is to transport medicine. Since I do not know what medicine to bring, and my assistant simply refuses to carry every type of medicine that exists, "The Doctor reached for the door, "I will have to make a diagnoses first."

Opening the door he quickly slipped in with Donna on his heels. While closing it, he heard Donna gasp behind him.

On the bed lay nine year old Betty Parris. She was convulsing, thrashing.

"She's having a seizure," Donna ran over to the girl to keep her from hurting herself. "Doctor, do something!"

The Doctor was scanning the walls and window with his every trusty. "Yes, this makes sense. Historians will come to predict that Betty Parris suffered from delusional psychosis brought on by stress associated with her inability to understand her affliction with epilepsy."

"Doctor!" Donna yelled at him.

The Doctor turned the attention of his sonic to the patient whose seizure was appearing to abate. "But, that's not all that's going on here, hey Betty?"

Donna released her grip as Betty's face began to glow an eerie green, then fluorescent blue, then fluorescent pink!

"A Dab Life Router Omit," Betty's voice, scratchy and almost male sounding, sent a shiver through Donna.

"You don't say," replied The Doctor.

"What did she say? And why didn't the T.A.R.D.I.S. translate?"

"The T.A.R.D.I.S. did translate. Her voice is just not ready to properly state what is being transmitted to it."

"What?"

"But for now," the sonic whirrs even louder. "I think I will end the transmission."

The girls face returns to normal, eyes close, and she falls into a sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"What the HELL was that, Doctor?"

"That was a manifestation of an alien entity trying to control her body." The Doctor returned to scanning the walls.

"Manifestation of uh … yeah. Well, it looked like she was possessed."

"In effect, she was. Weird to think that after all is said and done, the villagers of Salem almost got it right."

"Doctor, this is not right. We have to do something."

"Perhaps, but carefully. You can't just rush into something like this."

"Look who's talking sense? Being all cautious and stuff. I don't think I've seen you like this before."

The Doctor paused his scans, pursed his lips and turned his head in her direction. "You haven't seen me this way before. I usually know what's going on."

"You're full of shit. You tell me all the time YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON."

"It doesn't matter what I tell you because YOU ARE ALWAYS YELLING AT ME."

Donna prepared for her retort, but the Doctor raised a finger to his lips, "Shhh...Do you hear that?"

"Don't you 'shush' me!"

"SHHHH! Listen!"

As the hum began to get louder, Donna heard it too. "It's your sonic, Spaceboy. Turn it off."

"It is off!" He began to walk the perimeter of the room, listening. Donna followed the sound to the bed and knelt down to look underneath. As the Doctor joined her from the other side, they found nothing under the bed excluding the other's face. The humming changed pitches and the Doctor realized that it was coming from above. Slowly he raised his head to the mattress level. Betty was awake, and leveled at The Doctors head was some sort of weapon. "Donna?"

"Yes?" She raised her own head above mattress level. Betty spun to aim at Donna.

"Duck!"

Donna dove back to the floor just as the weapon went off. "Damn it! For a nine hundred year old alien, your communication skills suck arse."

The Doctor ran to the door and tore it open. "Donna!" He snatched a book from the stand by the door and thrust it at Betty. "Argue later. Run!"

As Betty discharged the weapon again she hit the book. It sent pages flying, several of which burst into flames. Donna raced out the door with The Doctor. Slamming the door behind them, one of the pages of the book slid under the door. The Doctor picked it up and pocketed it. His tennis shoes barely touched the steps as he scuttled down the stairs dragging Donna by the wrist.

At the bottom of the steps, Tituba greeted them with a tray of food. "I was just bringing the little Miss her breakfast."

"Well, she's asleep right now," he answered, peering up the stairs and noticing there was no apparent pursuit.

"_Or__she's__getting__dressed__to__give__chase_," Donna whispered in his ear.

The Doctor turned and looked at her incredulously. "Why would she get dressed?"

"Well, they're Puritans. Pretty sure they got a rule and procedure for doing everything 'round here."

"How is she?" asked Tituba adjusting the tray carefully as to not spill the morning's tea.

"I have an idea that MAY help her, but I have to get back to my, uh, shop first. I'll be back. Tell the Reverend. " Tituba moved to escort them to the door. "Your hands are full. We will see ourselves out."

Outside, Donna ran after The Doctor. "Oi, Spaceboy. Why are we running away?"

"We aren't running away, we are running for supplies and information."

"Well, what's going on?"

The Doctor stops. "Someone," he began to pace, "or something is using that little girl as a portal from wherever they are or are not to get to here." He ran his hand through his dark hair as if a thought may have gotten snared in the tangles. "The problem is tracing where they are or are not coming from."

"So where or whenever this thing may or may not be coming from how can we…?"

"Stop, what did you say?"

"…may or may not be coming from?"

"Before that."

"Why are we running?"

"After that."

"Where or whenever…"

"Whenever! Donna you're brilliant!"

"I know! …why?"

"And you have been listening to me."

"If you say so."

"And I am SO STUPID!"

The Doctor stops pacing and looks at Donna.

"Do you really want ME to respond to that?"

The Doctor ignored the jibe. "How could I forget?"

"DOCTOR!"

"The alien entity that is using Betty is most likely manipulating her through not only space, but time. That's one of the reasons for the language distortion. We need to analyze the evidence to determine when this thing came from."

"What evidence?"

"This," The Doctor held up the page he had pocketed from the house.

"Is that a page from the Bible?"

The Doctor inspected it closer. "Hmm … Yes it is, from the book of Hosea specifically… But that doesn't matter. What's important is that this was hit by Betty's laser gun thingy."

Donna looked puzzled. "But if the alien entity cannot get through, how did it get her a gun?"

"She made it." He picked up his pace again. "Or to clarify, the alien made it using her. The point is that it uses alien technology which we can trace."

"Well then zap it with your sonic."

"My sonic? Honestly Donna. What do you think this is capable of? It's a screwdriver, it uh—sonics. You know it's interesting about this Bible here. It was recorded that Betty Paris once threw a Bible across the room and its pages exploded from the binding. Makes you wonder, eh? Perhaps this incident today…"

Donna stopped short as The Doctor continued his lecture. Something was not right. A morning bell was ringing for school. Some children raced past to keep from being tardy. Men and women walked along the streets running morning errands. A shopkeeper was sweeping off the stoop in front of his shop.

The Doctor, having noticed he was walking alone returned to where she stood.

"Donna?"

"Something's wrong. My spider sense is tingling."

The Doctor begins scanning her. "Nonsense, the Racnoss Queen flooded you with Huon particles, but none of the Racnoss' arachnid qualities are related to Huon…"

"Put a sock in it. Let me think. Something is out of place." Slowly she continued her scan of the village.

After a few seconds, The Doctor felt it was time to move on. He reached out to touch her arm. "Donna?"

"SKIN!" Donna pulled away from The Doctor and snapped her fingers. "I saw skin."

The Doctor inspects the skin on his own hands front and back.

"No…SKIN! Look at them, everyone covered from toenail to their noses. But for a brief moment," she turned to the right a bit, "out of the corner of my eye, I saw skin. That's not right."

Before The Doctor could stop her, Donna raced to the corner of the livery stable and peered around the corner. The Doctor pulled in close and spied over her shoulder. Sure enough, a scantily clad woman was walking away from the village and into the woods.

"You're right Donna. She does NOT belong here!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

As the mystery woman skipped away into the forest, Donna was amazed at her agility. She gracefully leapt over a fallen log in a good five inch royal navy blue stiletto heel that strapped over her tarsal and around her ankle. Her long toned legs were bare from ankle to buttocks, which occasionally peeked out from beneath what appeared to be a dark blue miniskirt. She seemed to be wearing nothing else. The complexion of her back was flawless as if it had been lovingly massaged by the sun to a beautiful golden brown tan that Donna would have killed for. It was accentuated by her brunette hair that tossed curls to and fro across her shoulders as she moved.

As she bounded over a ridge, she turned back momentarily.

"My God! She's lovely," Donna gasped. Her skirt was attached on the left side to a matching top that stretched over her sculpted abdomen and full bosom before creating a choker around her neck. Despite the cleavage revealing plunge in the front, her top pulled to the left exposing the firm curve under her right braless breast.

"That bitch!"

"Yes, I'm sure...what huh?" The Doctor appeared to be a little awestruck himself.

Donna snapped out of it. "Doctor, what next?"

"Oh! Um—well—uh. We … follow her, of course. Come on."

Just then, a commotion broke out. Looking back towards the village, they saw a man dragging a girl to the center of the square. She was crying and wailing, and couldn't have been more than thirteen.

"You are guilty of harlotry. You have allowed the devil to persuade you to lure men to indecent propositions." A crowd gathered to watch as she was dragged to a platform with a post.

"But HE kissed ME," she pleaded as her captor grabbed the rope from the post and began to tie her hands to it.

"He is being dealt with. You need not worry about him. You need worry about your soul. Pray to the Holy One to forgive you for your wicked ways."

As he sermonized, a young man was brought forward and placed in the stocks. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be praying.

Satisfied that the girl was secured, two women from the crowd stepped forward and opened her blouse exposing her back. Someone brought the magistrate a whip.

The Doctor looked at Donna and saw the rage there. "We need to leave," he said grabbing her arm.

Donna tried to pull away. "Let go of me Doctor," she warned.

CRACK

The sound was sickening, as leather met with flesh. Donna's eyes opened wide with horror. The Doctor, intent on protecting her, pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Donna buried her face in his chest and sobbed as the first wail escaped the young girl's lips.

CRACK! The second lash hit when the young girl had only almost stopped screaming from the first.

Again Donna tried to break free, but The Doctor shoved her roughly and stepped in front of her. Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he launched a few quick signals across the square.

As the magistrate raised his arm again, the expected "Crack" was replaced by "Booms" and "Bangs" as the doors and window shutters suddenly fell from the feed store. As the door crashed into some of the bystanders, knocking them to the ground The Doctor ran out into the crowd and began to yell, "HELP! HELP! A little assistance here, please. I think they are hurt, HELP please." With the crowd's attention turned to those injured, Donna quickly made her way to the front and released the young girl. The Doctor, having quieted down, slipped away from the crown and opened the stocks for the young man. Together they ran.

As they passed the church, the young girl slowed.

"Lilth, what are you doing?" asked the young man.

"I have to go back, Tom. I have to. They will bob my ears or tongue when they catch me. Or perhaps cut off a toe for running. I have to go back." She turned and ran back towards the square.

Tom shrugged and faced The Doctor. "Thank you, sir. I don't know who you are but I am glad not to have to spend all day in the stocks."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and they landed on a very pissed off Donna. "Here we go."

"YOU were going to be in the stocks while SHE got whipped!"

The boy looked irritated at Donna and again addressed The Doctor. "Is she wishing for the same, raising her voice to men like that?"

The Doctor grabbed Donna's arm again, this time to keep her from snatching Tom up by the scrotum. "I'd like to see them…"

"…be more compassionate," The Doctor finished. "Thank you, Tom, for your time. Have a good day. Go do good things."

He turned Donna around. "We've got other things to do, yes?"

They stealthily slipped around the corner of the church and made for the T.A.R.D.I.S.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Doctor, what about our mystery woman?"

"She's gone, for now. We'll look for her later. It's not like she doesn't stand out." Quickly looking both ways he opened the T.A.R.D.I.S. doors and entered.

Donna followed him inside. "But, how the hell can she get about like that?"

"Get about like what?"

"You know, we're in Salem and she's dressed like a £3 whore in heat."

"Don't be so judgmental, Donna. She was a lovely woman and I'm sure..."

"Whatever! The point is, these people outside will execute someone for exposing an ankle. How does she get away with traipsing about in thread and a band-aid?"

"Hmmm…Perception filters…different from ours I think."

"Different."

"Yes. Usually people see us the way we are. The T.A.R.D.I.S. just alters the way they perceive it."

"So they see us dressed as one of the locals."

"Noooo. Usually, it alters their ability to recognize that the way we are dressed is abnormal to them."

Donna considers this for a moment. "And our mystery woman?"

"She would appear to be using a perception filter that alters what we see. She wears next to nothing, we see a 16th Century colonial dress."

"But we didn't." Donna protested.

"Of course not. The T.A.R.D.I.S. filtered it out for us."

"The T.A.R.D.I.S. filtered out the filter."

"Precisely. Brilliant, really."

"Hmmm…OK so let me see if I get this straight. Because the T.A.R.D.I.S. alters how others feel about the way we are dressed, we could run out totally naked and they would think that is just fine."

The Doctor, who had been pulling levers and scanning the page from the Bible, stopped and focused his attention on Donna. "No…I tried that once. Naked is naked." The Doctor cast her a sly smile. "I guess the T.A.R.D.I.S. figures if you remove all your clothes it must be for a good purpose and drops the filter…Really confused the Porthans though. They had never seen a humanoid's genitals before."

"DOCTOR!"

"WHAT! I was bored. Seemed like the thing to do at the time." He returned his attention to the Bible remnant. "But I do wish I had known the consequences beforehand. The T.A.R.D.I.S. had settled in the corner of what would have been considered their Sunday morning church service…I think they would have been considered Methodist."

Donna burst into laughter and The Doctor joined her with a huge grin while continuing his investigative efforts.

"So," Donna began when she had controlled her laughing. "Gallafrey-ites do have genitals."

The Doctor glanced her direction as she sauntered around the console. If this was getting uncomfortable, he was masking it as he continued to work. "Gallifreyans," he corrected, "and of course they do. Where do you think little baby Time Lords come from?"

"And what does it look like?" she asked nonchalantly as she stepped next to him and began caressing pieces the consol.

"Hmmm?—Uh, normal," he replied looking at the screen and back to the remnant. "Stop touching that."

"Well, what is normal for a Time Lord?" She had no real interest, but it was fun to tease him like this.

The Doctor, though, had had enough. Putting down the paper he faced her with folded arms and eyebrows raised inquisitively. "Tell you what, show me yours and I'll show you mine."

"Never mind," Donna dismissed him. As she turned and strode away, The Doctor grinned. It was not every day he got the upper hand on these games Donna played.

Donna sat down and closed her eyes. She was just having sport, but now that the game had ended she remembered Lilth and the sound of the lashings; her scream followed by her willingness to return. Soon she was dreaming about Lilth and Tom being chased by Betty and the mystery woman.

_One with a laser, the other with a whip they are ever so slowly catching up with the deprived lovers._

"_Run Lilth! Run Tom!"_

_They can't run any faster and Donna tries to run to assist only to find herself in the stocks in the middle if the village. The villagers are pointing and laughing at her and she feels uncomfortable in these tall stilettos and blue napkin dress._

A sound like a microwave timer dinged and woke Donna. She opened her eyes just in time to see The Doctor looking as confused by the sound as she.

A light began to blink on the console and when The Doctor pushed it, a new rectangular screen popped up.

"Here we are. This is better. It's a terry chopper."

"A terry chopper," Donna echoed with a yawn. "What's a terry chopper?"

"It's like eating an ice cream sundae and leaving the cherry topping floating in the air. A terry chopp…Oh, never mind. The physics don't apply on earth."

"But they have ice cream sundaes elsewhere?"

"It was imported," he answered matter-of-factly. Anyway, the alien entity that is accosting Betty Parris is a Prodejyum. It's preparing her. When it transports in and out of her it leaves trace amounts of GL7, this has been going on for weeks or months even. But more importantly, it is setting up portals inside of her to remove parts of her from this existence piece by piece to make room for it to replace her. Once the portals are all in place the Prodejyum will enter her and then transport the bits of her away while integrating itself into the parts that it needs to survive here. You know…oxygen breathing lungs and et cetera."

"Leaving the cherry topping."

"Yes. Technologically speaking, it is brilliant.

"Speaking humanistic, it's brutal."

"And that is why we must stop it!" The Doctor picked his sonic screwdriver from the console and pocketed it.

"Do we know where the Prode- Prode…Do we know where it's trying to come from?"

"Nope," The Doctor replied leading the way to the doors. "But there maybe someone who does."

"Our mysterious woman."

The Doctor grinned. "Let's go hunting."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Just how long did I sleep?" Donna stepped into the dusk and stared into the distance to adjust her eyes.

"Hmm…oh I don't know. Quite a while I suppose. I was busy working and you were snoring. Anyway, it's fall and the days are shorter. It's still early evening."

Donna's stomach growled, "Well that explains the hunger. I guess it was early afternoon by the time we made it back here. And I do NOT snore!"

The Doctor grinned as he passed her an electric candle and showed her how to light it. "Well, then either the lyots are still in need of severe recalibrating or we have a Trelathian Warthog with a cold running about the T.A.R.D.I.S." He turned the candle so the flash shield blocked the simulated electrical flame from blinding them as they walked. "Here," he added reaching into his pocket and handing her a meal bar. "It's roast and carrots, and no spitting out the carrots this time. It's disgusting."

Donna snatched supper from him and tore into it with her teeth. Her stomach mumbled a 'thank you' in anticipation.

As they reached the edge of the woods, The Doctor pulled out another candle and lit it before crossing the tree line. Creeping as silently as they could, they worked their way deeper and deeper into the woodland. Every few yards The Doctor would pull out his sonic for a quick reading before forging ahead. Donna found herself daydreaming as she watched the eerie glow from her candle cast bending tree shadows reaching into the forest as if they were fingers dragging themselves away from the light.

"Doctor?"

"Shhh!"

"Oi, don't shush me."

"SHhh! Listen!"

Remembering the humming of Elizabeth's blaster, Donna perked up her ears only to hear an owl somewhere to their right, some creature (most likely a mouse or squirrel) scurrying away to their left, and a woman's voice from somewhere up ahead.

"Wait," Donna stopped. "Is that Tituba?"

Instead of answering, The Doctor blew out his electric candle and motioned for Donna to do the same. Ahead, a blaze from a campfire marked their destination.

Stealthily, they moved towards the voice. Now Donna was sure it was Tituba, but her Caribbean accent was much thicker now.

"Da key to da future is rusty and covered wid blood, while da past is shiny. Da past has been polished and recently used and does not lay in da shadows waitin' for us to find it. You must be willin' to forge a new path, else you be followin' in da footsteps of another."

Tituba was sitting on a log surrounded by four girls from about twelve to sixteen years of age. Trinkets, feathers and talismans were suspended from fir trees decorating the hidden nest. She reached up and snagged a small leather pouch dangling from a nearby branch. Untying it, she poured its contents into a short wide bowl.

"_A stinkpot."_ The Doctor commented.

"_An outhouse substitute? _Donna wrinkled her nose as if her imagination could almost smell the sewage. "_A colonial bedpan. Eww" _

Setting the bedpan aside Tituba picks up something and shakes it between her hands while reciting some Caribbean enchantment. Suddenly she casts the contents of her hands to the ground. The jagged chucks of bone and teeth shone in the campfire light and the girls closed in to inspect as Tituba interpreted the runes.

"Our sisters, they be cursed." Tituba pointed from rune to rune.

"_Is she talking about Elizabeth, Doctor?"_

"_Most likely,"_ whispered the Doctor. _"Elizabeth and her cousin Abigail. They both began to have fits and convulsions about the same time"._

"Dey be cursed and be needin a ward." Tituba continued her reading. "It is up to us to find da spirit in da flesh who be a-tauntin' her. But to expel da familiar, we needs to satisfy or sour its soul. " She pointed at the bedpan. "A cake of rye made with da fluids of our sisters will divide da creature from itself."

Pulling a feathery talisman from nearby, Tituba tossed it into the fire. Then, rolling her eyes back she began another Caribbean chant reciting it over and over as the talisman smoked and burned in a quickly growing blue and green flame. As the smoke became thicker, the girls scooted away and Tituba slowed her chant. Relaxing a bit she opened her eyes slightly to find the camp filled with the dense smoke. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and Tituba…disappeared!

The girls looked though the smoke and then looked around them. The littlest one jumped up and took a step to where Tituba had just been standing. Upon not finding her, the girl realized that it had not been a trick of the fire or the smoke, but that Tituba had really disappeared!

With skirts heaved to a most scandalous thigh level, the girls screamed and ran through the forest. The Doctor charged the scene and scanned the area where Tituba had been. One of the girls came crashing back to the campsite and grabbed the bedpan and ran back into the woods again before she even realized that The Doctor was standing there. Donna walked up chuckling. "That was quite a performance. I would expect that was top entertainment for this day and age. She is quite a magician. How did she do it?"

"It was real."

"What? What was real?"

"Her disappearance, it wasn't magic. Magic is sleight of hand and illusion and mirrors. This was real. She's been abducted."

As if on cue from a movie director, Tituba's bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence of the evening.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"That was Tituba!"

The Doctor leapt across the campfire and raced in the direction of the scream. By the time Donna had circumvented the fire, he was gone; swallowed by trees and darkness.

"Doctor!" she called, trying to light her candle again. "Damn it, Spaceboy."

The candle lit and she stumbled into the woods after him. The scream had stopped and The Doctor had left no traces of where he had gone. She pushed a branch away and it gave with a 'CRACK' that startled her to her bones. "Well, I guess he didn't go that way," she decided aloud, "or it would have already been broken." She lifted her candle and stared through the trees to look for footprints or broken branches.

"Fine tracker you are. This is precisely why taxis were invented." She thought that talking to herself would be calming. It was not. She decided on a direction and marched forward, calling for The Doctor every few steps. A sudden breeze threatened to extinguish the electric candle as its flame began to flicker. Even as she paused to let the candle recover, she could sense the gust approaching. "Aww," she began just as the gust hit and the candle blew out again. "Fuck me."

The Doctor stopped by a pond and pulled out his sonic. Extending the tip, the hum rang through the silent woods as the light applied a blue hue to his surroundings. Slowly he turned around and found the mystery woman standing mere inches away staring at him through those big dark eyes.

"I love you." He jumped back. "Did I say that?"

"Yes," she replied. "You are too kind."

The Doctor swept the sonic up noticing the blue tinge on her exposed legs, side, arms and ears. He swept it back down again taking in the beauty of her face, lips, neck and... "Well, that's because it's true." He blinked and snapped off the sonic. "I mean it's true that I would love to have your assistance in a matter."

He frantically searched his pockets for the electronic candle. Not only was he afraid that she might run, but he was momentarily terrified that he might lose her forever.

He pulled out the candle and lit it. There she stood, as close as she had been a moment ago.

"Are you alright?" he asked genuinely concerned for her safety in the few moments of preceding darkness.

She smiled and her eyes danced with delight as she replied, "Of course, I am fine."

"Oh good," said The Doctor. "I am relieved. Oh! And you said that without speaking. You're telepathic. My what a sweet telepathic voice you have, my dear. Oh! Um, by the way, I'm The Doctor."

"A pleasure to meet you, The Doctor. I am Bedra."

"Bedra. What a lovely name. Tell me Bedra, have you seen Tituba?"

She blinked and The Doctor heard confusion in her telepathic voice. "What is a Tituba?"

"A Tituba. Well, a Tituba is a young slave woman who has been abducted and I was trying to help her," The Doctor replied. "Do I need to keep talking or can you read my voice too?"

"It matters not."

"Really. That's brilliant! Let's try it shall we?"

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows and thought his words clearly. _"How did you get here?"_

Bedra swooned slightly and stumbled. "Are you alright?" The Doctor inquired, grabbing her arm to support her.

"I am not hurt. The amount of information you provided was a little overwhelming."

"Amount if information?"

"Yes, you said that my eyes are beautiful and you asked where a Donna was. You then stated that the ground is soggy here, that I smelled exquisite, that if the firefly buzzing would speed up it would be making me a crown of lights and then you asked if I were a queen. You said you needed to adjust your pants, asked how I got here and commented on the effects a slight breeze would have on my hemline. You asked if you locked a T.A.R.D.I.S., and then said I must be cold because I remind you of a Tanzien Pilk waiting for his cubs, before telling me that you love me."

"Impressive! And a tad invasive."

"Thank you. What's a Donna? Yes, it is. Thank you again. How interesting. No. I understand that happens. I came here with my friend. Yes, that would be the effect. What's a T.A.R.D.I.S.? I think that was an inappropriate observation. Yes, I have that effect on people."

The Doctor, counting off the answers on his fingers, cleared his throat. "I um apologize for any inappropriate behavior. You appear to read not only the thoughts I wanted you to receive but several other random thoughts I was thinking for myself."

"Oi, what did you do now Spaceboy?" Donna approached loudly. "Besides leaving your mate behind in the dark, you daft ass!"

"That's a Donna," The Doctor told Bedra.

Donna looked up at her, "Well, what do you know? It's our mystery woman. Hey you, tell us where Tituba is. Do it right now, and for God's sake kiss me."

The Doctor brows furrowed again as he stared at a shocked Donna.

"What I mean is that we really need to find our friend." Donna took a step closer, "but not as much as I need to touch you."

"Donna?"

"What? I know! This isn't right."

Gently The Doctor took Donnas arm and guided her to step back from Bedra. In turn, Donna spun and kissed The Doctor! Passionately she grabbed the back of his head as she pushed her mouth against his. He tried to protest, but she forced her way inside to explore his mouth. She licked his teeth and sucked and nibbled on his tongue. Grabbing his belt with her other hand she pressed his body closer to hers and moaned.

The Doctor shoved her away harshly. "Donna!"

"Oi, you bloody bastard! You bit me!"

"You molested me!"

"Well I hadn't yet." Turning around she gracefully reached to touch Bedra's face. "I love you."

The Doctor grabbed Donna by both arms and dragged her a few yards away.

"Now stop that Donna, she's mine! I-I-I-I mean…" The smack of Donna's hand against The Doctor's face brought him back around. "Ow! … Thanks."

Donna holds out her hand as if she were stopping traffic. "Stop right there, Bedra."

"Oh she's introduced herself?"

"Yes, I hear her in my head."

"Lovely sound isn't it?"

"Delightful."

"Bedra, you appear to make those around you very touchy-feely. That could go very badly in Salem."

Bedra sat down on the soggy ground with all the grace of a ballerina. "I know."

The Doctor and Donna exchanged glances. "Then why do you do it?"

Bedra smiled and they both heard her telepathically giggle. "I don't know. I don't do it. It just happens."

The Doctor smiled, "She is so innocent. She is beautiful, telepathic, and must emit some type of unbelievably intoxicating pheromone. It must be impossible, not to fall in love with her.

"_Bitch"_

"What did you say, Donna?"

"Nothing.." She replied, but Bedra's displeasure showed plainly.

"OK, moving on. Bedra. We need to find our friend and perhaps your friend can help us. Can you introduce us to your friend?"

Bedra shook her head. "He is not here-now."

"But I thought you said he brought you here."

Bedra shook her head positively this time. "Yes but he could not stay here-now. He went on to here-ahead."

"So your boyfriend abandoned you?" Donna folded her arms with doubt.

"Not exactly Donna." The Doctor explained, "Her friend is indeed the Prodejyum. He could not survive here so he went to some other time where he could. Perhaps the Prodejyum only wants to preserve the timeline by retrieving Bedra. Perhaps she was left by accident, but not abandoned."

But Donna stared at Bedra with distrust. "By stealing people out of the forest?"

"Bedra?" The Doctor asked. "Can you contact your friend?"

Bedra did not answer.

"Bedra?"

As The Doctor raised the candle to get better light, another breeze blew out the exposed flame. That's when they both noticed a familiar green glow. "That's what happened to Betty," announced Donna. "Only without the seizures." They watched as Bedra turned fluorescent blue and then fluorescent pink. She stood again and faced them.

"A Dab Life Router Omit."

"We've heard that one before," commented Donna.

"A Dab Life Router Omit…"A Dab Life Router Omit. A Await Wad Mask Hue Aura Hid Jutes Kiss."

The Doctor pocketed his sonic and shrugged. "Well that's different, but it's still of no use."

He turns to find Donna passed out on the ground. "Oh for crying out loud!" he shouted before passing out himself and sprawled across her unconscious body.

****1000 Cool points for the first person to break the anagram hidden message in chapters three and eight.****


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Donna languidly opened one eye. She noticed that she was uncomfortable with a sore back and stiff legs. It was as if she had been sleeping on the ground. She tried to reposition but realized that someone was holding her down. She smiled to herself. Well, it appears that I need to remember last night. She inhaled through her nostrils. The smell of pine and water brought her to the realization that she must be in a park. Maybe we're camping. She brought her arms around the young man she had most assuredly seduced and slowly raised her head to smell his hair. It smelled familiar like… "Oi Spaceboy!" she yelled releasing her intimate hold and shoving him away. "What are you doing? Get off me."

The Doctor awoke with a start and rolled on his side. "What?" he asked.

"What, what?", asked Donna

"What happened?", asked The Doctor.

"You… kissed me!" she replied.

"I did not. You kissed me."

"Well, you're a Space-boy with a kid-napping habit. Who they gonna believe?" She looked around quickly. "Where the hell is our mystery woman?"

"Bedra?" The Doctor called. He reached into his jacket pocket and then into his pants pockets.

"Oh bugger this," he said searching more pockets frantically. "My sonic is gone. I've been robbed."

"Bedra, you think? She knocked us out and stole it."

"No," he said. "She is way too innocent to do something like that. Besides, with that love spell she has, all she would have needed to do was ask."

"What convinces you that she's so innocent? Maybe you're still a little star struck." asked Donna.

"You have to have more faith in people, Donna. Come on. She needs our help."

"And what of Tituba?"

"They are probably together," he replied. Then he kicked a stone into the pond. "Lifted my screwdriver. I really liked that one. Bedra?"

"Screw Bedra. Let's go find Tituba," said Donna.

They followed the edge of the water holding up their candles until Donna noticed some tracks leading back into the forest. "I'm a tracker now," she boasted pointing them out to The Doctor. The horizon was just starting to glow with the morning daybreak as they followed the tracks back into the ominous woods.

"Doctor?"

"Shhh."

"Don't shush me."

"Shhh, listen."

"No, I'm tired of this scene. Just tell me what you hear."

"It's a hum."

"Like Betty with a ray gun?"

The Doctor listened. "No it's lower pitched than that."

"Like your sonic?"

"No, more like…wait…Yes! Yes, it is my sonic! Come on!"

They ran forward, dodging trees and a few spider webs covered in morning dew. Donna began to hear it too and pushed herself to keep up with The Doctor. Suddenly, he stopped and lifted up his candle higher. "There it is. Laying on the ground between those trees."

Donna grabbed onto a tree branch to steady herself and catch her breath. "Wait. Doctor? It's just lying there. Couldn't this be a trap?" she inquired.

But The Doctor was already moving forward to retrieve his trusty tool. "Donna there is one thing that you should realize…" he said. But, as he reached for the screwdriver it disappeared. The world around him momentarily shimmered. He was no longer standing on pine needles and moss, but on a metallic floor in a spacious dimly lit room. "…It's often a trap," he finished the sentence to himself.

Realizing he was by himself he began to call for Donna and backtracked his steps searching for his point of entry.

"Looking for something?" Donna asked from behind him.

"Donna, you did follow me through."

Donna smiled mischievously and dangled the sonic screwdriver. "I went around and retrieved this from the other direction first," she explained. "Does me no good to be stuck in 1700 Salem without you, but I wasn't about to not try and get you your precious screwdriver first. Whoever baited you, sure knows of your passion for these things." She handed the sonic back to its rightful owner.

"Now," she continued. "At the risk of sounding repetitive, where the hell are we this time Doctor?"

The Doctor grinned and extracted the tip of his sonic. "Well, let's see shall we?" The Sonic whirred to life as he waved it around the room and then began to stare down the side as if it were a rifle scope. "Um-hum, I see, yes." He closed it with a snap and returned it to his pocket. "Ok, we are in a room."

Donna clenched her fist and prepared a haughty retort.

"Welcome, Doctor." The lights brightened and Bedra stepped through a door that had been camouflaged only a moment ago. Her voice was not at all like her telepathic voice, but was very deep and distinct. Every consonant was pronounced in an almost computerized way.

"Bedra, are you ok?" the Doctor inquired warily.

"I am."

This time The Doctor saw it. Her lips barely moved, but she had spoken with her voice. "No, no I don't think you are. You are the Prodejyum. Yes, and you are using Bedra's psychic connection to speak through her."

"You are correct, Doctor."

"Well, then! I thought you were trying to get Bedra back, but no. Your intentions are something different, I think."

"My intentions are to retrieve the one you call Bedra."

"No it is not. You two are located here, together, now. So I would like to know, what your real objectives are."

"We are not co-located."

"Oh, but you most certainly are co-located," said The Doctor, pointing an accusing finger. "Or you would be having the trouble controlling her voice like you did Betty in Salem or Bedra back there in the woods. But the woods are not back there, are they? No, because you've lured us somewhere else. You've lured us to another time and place and are hiding the reason why. This brings me back to my original question. What are your objectives?"

Without response, Berda turned to leave the room.

"Where's she going?" asked Donna.

"Hey," The Doctor called, "What do we call you?"

Bedra stopped at the door. "I am called Paloup."

"Plop?" Donna grinned from ear to ear. "I bet you hate your parents."

Bedra left the room. The Doctor and Donna followed. "Not too close," The Doctor warned. "She still has those pheromones."

They followed her down a corridor. "Are you ignoring my question or taking us to show the answer?" The Doctor was clearly losing patience. "What are your objectives?"

"I have many objectives. None are of your concern."

"You lured us here, we demand to know why!" The Doctor took a step closer to Bedra as she stopped and turned around.

"You are in no position to make demands. You are not going to hurt this individual. You are not capable of returning to your own time and location. You are to remain until I decide what to do with you."

"What are you doing to Tituba?" The Doctor pressed.

"She is being tested for compatibility."

"Why, is Betty not compatible?"

"She is compatible for one. We desire many."

The Doctor and Donna exchanged looks of concern as Bedra turned and continued down the hall. "You have to have more faith in people, Donna," Donna mocked.

"I was speaking of an innocent person who needs our help like Bedra," explained The Doctor.

"But, she IS Bedra."

"But she is not responsible for her actions. She is being used by the Prodejyum."

"Plop."

"Paloup. Yes."

Bedra stopped at the end of the hall. A door opened and The Doctor slipped inside followed by Donna. The room was hot and steamy. Along the wall were glass cages of dogs, cats and birds. The agitated animals tried to attack one another only to be foiled by the invisible barriers. Although you could tell that there was plenty of barking, hissing and squawking, the glass muted any sound. There was however the sound of sobbing in the room.

Donna saw her first. Sitting on the floor behind what appeared to be a medical bed. "Tituba," said Donna. "There you are."

Tituba looked up from her folded arms. She was restrained by some sort of alien ankle cuffs connected to the floor. "Ma'am! Doctor! Praise be."

The Doctor rushed over and began scanning the cuffs.

"Are you alright, Tituba?" he inquired.

"I'm not harmed," she replied. "The devil man kept telling me he needed me. Wanted me to work for him. Made me sign his devil book." She pointed to a journal lying on the table adjacent to the exam table.

Donna walked over and picked it up. The first few pages were filled with writing in a language she had never seen before. She turned a few more pages and saw what appeared to be signatures. Scribbles and marks and swipes of different languages but it was recognizably signatures.

"Doctor, what is this?" She brought it over to The Doctor, who was busily trying to unlock the cuffs.

"It's a consent form," he replied as the cuffs suddenly popped open. He pocketed the sonic and taking the book began to flip through it. Tituba accepted Donna hand to help her to her feet.

"From the looks of these signatures, it is a pretty old consent form. There must be hundreds of signatures in here. Ho-oh." He had turned to the last page of signatures and was running his finger upwards from the bottom. Donna joined him at his side and read.

"Tituba," she read aloud. "Sara Good, Sarah Osborne, and … Betty Parris."

"Of course." The Doctor looked at Tituba and spoke with hushed toned but his admiration was evident. "When she confessed, she said that she loved Betty. She ratted out Sara Good and Sarah Osborne, but never once told on Betty."

"What are you talking about? Who are Sara and Sarah?" Donna asked in the same hushed tone.

With a rueful sigh he glanced at Tituba, who was inspecting the animals with a bit of terror and sorrow. "Good and Osborn are the others who along with Tituba will be accused by Betty Parris of being witches. These four women and this Prodejyum, Paloup, will launch the witch trials of Salem."

"Well we can't let that happen," said Donna.

"It's already happened," said The Doctor. "Come on. Let's go."

"Not yet, Doctor." The new voice came from the doorway. A man stood there dressed in a black robe and some sort of alien breathing apparatus was strapped to his face. In his right, gloved hand he held a metal staff which came about shoulder high. On the top of the staff was a bust of a troll head wearing, much to Donna's amusement, a pointed broad-brimmed hat.

"Plop, I presume," quipped Donna.

Starring over his facemask, Paloup scanned over the three of them and stopped when his eyes landed on The Doctor. "First, I need you to sign my book."

****Still no winner! 10,000 Cool points for the first person to break the anagram hidden message in chapters three and eight.****


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Paloup touched what looked like a time vortex manipulator attached to his forearm. With a flash of light Tituba disappeared.

"What did you do to her?" Donna demanded. "Where is she?"

"I returned her," Paloup answered. "She is of no use to me. Even with my improvements, she would not sustain more than perhaps thirty seasonal rotations."

"Thirty years," The Doctor clarified. "Of course she wouldn't survive much more than that. Humans don't. How long are you requiring?"

Paloup's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied The Doctor. "Forever, of course."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and sneered with dissatisfaction at the Prodejyum. "Immortality…Really? Is that all you are looking for? With all the amazing technology at your disposal and all of time and space for you to explore, you waste time, effort and lives on the search for the fountain of youth? You, sir, are just...sad."

"Your opinion does not matter to me. As you see from the consent form you hold, all of my research has been with willing volunteers. I am well within the guidelines of the Covington Principles," said Paloup.

"Well of course you are. You kidnap persons from their own place and time and threaten them to help or never be returned. Or perhaps you lure them in with promises of immortality, withholding the information that you plan to strip away what makes them an individual to replace them with what makes you you."

Donna scoffed in righteous anger. The Prodejyum shrugged.

"But no matter what you tell them, most individuals would most likely jump at the chance to save themselves from whatever fears you construct with the aid of that Rabex emotional amplifier you have there."

Donna stepped up beside The Doctor. "You're such a bastard…wait … What's a rabbi's emotional amplifier?"

The Doctor pointed to Paloup's witches staff. "That is a Rabex emotional amplifier, more commonly referred to as a 'fearstick'. The Rabex used them as a defense mechanism to ward off ground forces who might want to attack them. It amplified the attackers' apprehension and caused them to run away scared or attack each other out of paranoia. The downside was that when they were actually invaded, the aggressor became so afraid that he … he returned and annihilated them."

"You are correct, Doctor. I came to acquire one of these fearsticks and with a few modifications, I found that I can focus persons fears to make them do my will. In most cases, it is only used so that they sign the consent form to keep within the Guidelines of the Covington Principles." Paloup paced about the room basking in the story of his own ingenuity.

"Cause you wouldn't want the Judoon traipsing about."

"As mercenary police forces go, the Judoon are the least of my worries. They are all about law and order. As long as I keep my log up to date, they will not take an assignment against me."

The Doctor could not see through the breathing device, but he was sure that Paloup was smiling with self-satisfaction. "But what of you, what does that make you? You murder people for your own immortality."

"Spare me your judgment, Doctor. I am righteous in my quest. I will not keep immortality for myself. It will be shared with everyone, everywhere. A few lives is a small cost for immortality" He raised his arms as if to spread his imaginary gift across the universe.

"But what is that cost; and the continued cost?" asked The Doctor. "Another's life, the benefactor's soul, and I am sure that a monetary exchange would be in order."

Paloup laughed. "Of course there would be. Nothing is free, and with immortality there will be a need for, ah, monetary exchanges to keep up a certain standard of living. It would be foolish to think otherwise."

"You are a fool, Paloup!" The Doctor walked closer. "I have seen communities who have mastered perhaps not immortality, but the fountain of youth."

"Of course, you have, Timelord,."

"It does not end well."

"So you wait a century. Things change."

"But, it doesn't change! It goes on and on." The Doctor had moved from pleasant conversation to a voice raised lecture. "No threat of mortality takes away an individual's drive for improvement, for continuation, for existence. You self-righteous idiot! If you were to live forever, you will see more than you care too until you no longer give a damn!"

"This from a Timelord? Are you not immortal? Have you not died four times already?"

"Six," Donna chimed in. "Six…that I know of."

"Nine," corrected the Doctor, shooting Donna an angry look. "I have lived nine lives. Nine very long, very satisfying lives. Nine lives which have taught me just a few things. Nine lives of loves, sorrows, victories, and regrets. Nine lives to realize that the victories keep getting larger and so do the regrets! Nine lives to watch my friends grow old. Nine lives to watch nations and words and universes repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Nine lives to pretend that I don't notice the havoc that takes place whenever my foot touches soil!...And nine lives to see how little and unimportant one crazy old man traveling in a box is, in comparison to all of space and time! And you know what keeps me sane? You know what gives me the drive to continue to be the best that I can be? You know what gives me the drive to push forward when it all seems for naught? No Timelord has lived past their thirteenth regeneration. I am NOT immortal. Eventually, my existence will end!...Quite honestly, with what all I've been through so far, I'm lucky to still be alive."

Paloup folded his arms; his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Nine of thirteen lives….Doctor, you're only a teenager… Five Timelord lives to go? That's the best offer I've had yet! But first…" He unfolded his arms and leveled the fearstick at The Doctor. "I need you to sign the consent form."

The Doctor clutched at his side. One hand across his chest and one at his ribcage.

"Doctor? Doctor! What's wrong!" screamed Donna, running to his side.

"I … I believe I am having a heart attack! A couple in fact. Ow that hurts!"

"So what does The Doctor fear?" Paloup waved the fearstick over the Doctor and giggled with delight.

The Doctor began to tremble and collapsed to the floor.

Donna glanced at the troll witch mast on the staff and saw its eyes glow yellow. "Enough!" she yelled.

Jumping up she grabbed the staff with both hands and tried to wrestle it away. Stealing a glance at The Doctor, she saw that he had stopped shaking but was still lying on the floor grabbing his sides. Paloup seized the distraction and twisted the staff upside-down. The staff was wrenched from her grip with one hand just as the end of the staff slapped her aside the face. She continued to hold on with all her might as Paloup continued to try to rip the staff from her remaining grasp. Her wrenched wrist throbbed painfully as she tried to grab the staff again. As he yanked the staff towards him, Donna pushed and they both crashed into the wall.

That's when Donna noticed the tube. Paloup's breathing apparatus appeared to have a tube that ran to a tank on his back. With her hurt hand she grasped it. Pain shot through her arm and wrist as she closed her fingers around the rubbery surface. With all of her might she yanked and was surprised at how easily it gave way. She lost grip on the fearstick and fell to the floor. She immediately found the eyes of the troll witch staring back at her and starting to glow.

"You are…" The Prodejyum cut off. Lowering the staff he checked his breathing equipment and noticed the missing tube.

"Looking for something?" asked Donna, dangling the piece of tube still held in her sprained hand.

Paloup's eyes widened in horror and he reached to open the manipulator on his wrist. With a sonic whir the manipulator sparked and smoked. Donna spun to see The Doctor flip the screwdriver in the air before pocketing it and rising to his feet. Donna jumped up as well and snagged the fearstick, with her good hand, flinging it across the room. "No immortality for you?"

Paloup began to panic, but The Doctor grabbed the tube from Donna and held it back in place. The Prodejyum breathed in deeply. "But no death sentence either, which is more than you deserve."

Paloup breathed laboriously through his apparatus which must have been leaking through The Doctors fingers. "You should kill me, Doctor. If you do not, I will kill you."

"Another death threat! Get in line! I swear I just don't…"

"And I will kill you too," Paloup addressed Donna.

The apparatus hissed and Paloup looked pleadingly back the The Doctor. The Doctor looked very cross. "Paloup, let me explain this to you once. I don't like you. I don't think you are worthy of wasting my efforts on bacause I don't think you are worth saving. If you want to do yourself a favor, prove me wrong. But whatever happens from this time on…" The Doctor tightened his grip on the apparatus tube and the hissing stopped. Paloup breathed deeply in relief. "…do NOT mess with my friends. Now…"

As The Doctor turned to examine the situation, Paloup took a deep breath and turned to run out the door. He tried to snag the tube from The Doctors tight grip first, but gave up and raced from the room.

"Doctor!" warned Donna too late, but The Doctor had not moved. He stood there examining the room with the tube still tightly grasped in his hands. It looked as Paloup could change his mind and slip right back into position and continue to breath normally if he chose to. The Doctor slowley turned his head to Donna. "Guess I was right after all."

There was a commotion in the corridor and investigation found Paloup face-down dead outside of the next cargo door. A menagerie of creatures Donna had never seen before were disappearing from their glass cages in a flash of light.

"Come on," said The Doctor running back to the cargo room where they had found Tituba. The animals there were disappearing too, one after another.

"Doctor, where are they going?" Donna looked around to realize she was alone. "Doctor?"


End file.
